WHAT'S NEW | Athletics at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

As always there will be something innovative for fans when watching the athletics competition whether in the stadium, via television broadcast, radio or online.

There are three significant changes from previous World Championships and Olympics Games:

• Repechage Rounds will be staged in some track events – 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 100/110mH and 400mH giving athletes eliminated in Round 1 a second chance to qualify for the semi finals. But note that athletes who are DNS, DNF or DQ in Round 1, may not compete in the Repechage Round. Seeding and draw for lanes in Repechage Round follow rules for Round 1.

[For the diehard fans and technical officials there is an exception to TR4.4 - athletes who are DNS in the Repechage Round may compete further in other events.]

• The second race walking event in Paris (that is in addition to the 20km events for each of men and women) will be the Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay. Countries may have qualified one or two teams. Australia is one of five countries that qualified a second team. It’s on Wednesday 7 August.

Athletes who have completed their first relay leg are authorised to either stay in the waiting area near the course or return to their team tent, in order to benefit from massages and/or medical care, to change their competition clothing and footwear. For the Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay, it is possible for the athletes to change their competition singlets during their recovery leg provided that the vest is exactly the same as was declared in the call room and their Bibs are worn in the same way as the first leg. Athletes can also change shoes between relay legs should they wish, so long as the shoes are included on the list of approved shoes.

• 14 of the 16 teams in each of the five Relay Events earned their places from the World Relays in Bahamas in May, The remaining two places were allocated to the next two teams not already qualified according to the World Athletics Top Lists for each relay. What’s also new is the allocation to heats and lane draws will be based on the ranking and results from those World Relays.

And for those fans who didn’t follow the changes introduced at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, there are a whole bunch of things that will be different from past Olympic Games:

• Replacements – in order, where possible, to avoid the disappointment of seeing any empty starting position in a World Championships or Olympic Games, World Athletics now has an athlete replacement system:

• Lane Draws – from 2023, the method of drawing starting positions in subsequent rounds of laned- events has changed – best described in the following graphics:

• Time Qualifiers in Middle Distance Events – there are no longer any time qualifiers from the heats of the 3000m steeplechase or the 5000m to the finals of those events. Same applies to the progression from the semi finals of the 1500m, where only the top six placed athlete in each of the two semis will advance.

And finally a few new rules that came into play at various times during 2023

• Any athlete allowed to “run under protest” in a race will be shown a Red and White Card
• Pole Vaulters are no longer allowed to changes the position of the uprights after the time clock has started to run for their trial – no matter how much time is left
• The composition of relay teams and the order of running now only have to be declared when the athletes arrive at the Call Room
• Athletes in throwing events are no longer allowed to spit on the implements (health and safety measure)

By Brian Roe, Athletics Australia
Posted 1/08/2024